Enrollment up, advisors down: FIU’s growing problem

Ruth Santana | Staff Writer

It’s recommended to meet with an advisor at least once every semester, but it’s nearly impossible. 

The last time I met with my advisor, she told me to look at my degree audit and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. Now I only contact my advisor if I truly have no other options.

FIU enrollment has been growing exponentially. Since the 2022-23 academic year, enrollment rates have been up 113% so we need advisors now more than ever. 

For my department, the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media within CARTA, I found out there are only two advisors during a call with the advising department but that isn’t the case for other departments. The FIU College of Business, for example, has 17-20 advisors. 

So some colleges are being hit harder by the influx of students than others. 

It’s also hard to tell how many advisors FIU has due to the number of different departments and the fact that those departments are broken up into different degree programs like how the FIU College of Law is broken up into J.D., LL.M. and J.M. programs, which each have their own advisors. 

Still, students struggle with academic advisors being overbooked, leading many to create their own class schedule which can be confusing and overwhelming.

No matter how early I try to book an appointment with my advisor, I have to wait months until I’m able to see them.

Many advisors quit or choose a different career during the school year, making it difficult to provide quality advising to the 54,085 students trying to plan their courses and stay on track. 

There are other resources outside of advisors that I’ve found helpful when trying to figure out what classes I’m supposed to take. 

FIU OneStop is usually available and they tend to find a solution for you quickly. For me, it’s not an ideal option since the line takes forever.

Talking to your professors or department heads and asking what classes they recommend is one of my favorite resources because it can open you up to classes you may not have thought you needed. They can also recommend professors, so you can get a professional in-person review instead of searching through Rate My Professor. 

Attending career fairs allows you to see what different institutions are looking for and what classes or certifications you could take to set you ahead in your chosen field. It also gets your foot in the door and helps you network with prospective employers. 

Panther Degree Audit located in MyFIU is my favorite tool for creating a class schedule. It itemizes and color codes your major requirements so you can keep track of what classes you’ve taken, what is in progress and what classes you have left. It is the easiest and least time-consuming option, trust me!

These options are not as great as having a productive conversation with an advisor who is dedicated to helping you, but you have to do what you have to do. 

If you are an incoming freshman, it may take a while to get the hang of creating a schedule that works best for you but don’t completely disregard trying to get in contact with your advisor. 

At the end of the day, this an issue the university needs to fix so that every student feels they can get the help they need promptly, as well as keep advisors from being overloaded with the number of students they are charged with. This is not a new issue. Hopefully, FIU will soon create a plan to combat this pressing matter better. 

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented on this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.